Sander



v. L. FRANTZ May 7, 1963 SANDER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 15, 1960 VIRGIL 1.; rnmvrz INVENTOR H IS ATTORNEY May 7, 1963 v. L. FRANTZ 3,088,764

SANDER Filed July 15, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 VIRGIL L. FRANTZ INVENTOR BY MIL m 21.;

ms ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,088,764 SANDER Virgil L. Frantz, Salem, Va. Filed July 15, 1960, Ser. No. 43,225 14 Claims. (Cl. 29111) This invention relates to locomotive and like sanders and has for its primary object the provision of a sander of such arrangement and construction that the body of its sand trap is protected from cutting by sand during a sanding operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide a sander wherein, during a sanding operation, sand and air are delivered to the discharge pipe from a sand trap but are mixed entirely beyond the body of the trap in a readily removable, relatively inexpensive extension, thus saving the body from cutting by the mixture.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a sander, the body of which is so connected to the discharge pipe as to facilitate cleaning of the trap and the pipe and cushion the trap from vibrations in the pipe.

A further object of the invention is to provide a sand trap wherein sand and air, delivered to the discharge pipe from the trap, not only are mixed beyond the body of the trap but, on mixing, flow substantially parallel to the side wall or walls by which they are laterally confined with consequent reduction in the wear on and turbulence within such wall or walls.

Another object of the invention is to provide a sand trap wherein there is no restriction in the cross sectional area of the passage through which the air and sand flow after mixing, thereby eliminating turbulence in such flow and enabling the air pressure required for sanding to be reduced correspondingly.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a sand trap through the body of which sand flows only by gravity and which, while adjustable in its rate of discharge of sand, requires for this purpose but a single movable part.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter in the detailed description, be particularly pointed out in the appended claims, and be illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a preferred embodiment of the sander of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a view similar to FIGURE 1 but with the extension detached from the body of the sand trap;

FIGURE 3 is a vertical sectional view taken along lines 3-3 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary central vertical sectional view of the sander in idle condition; and

FIGURE 5 is a view on the section of FIGURE 4 of the sander during a sanding operation.

Referring now in detail to the drawings in which like reference characters designate like parts, the improved sander of the present invention is designed for use in a system in which sand is delivered by gravity from an associated sand dome or box to a stand trap and, during a sanding operation, is discharged by compressed air from the trap through a discharge pipe to a track or other surface in advance of a wheel.

In its preferred form, the sander of this invention is comprised of a sand trap 1 having a body 2 of generally L-shape and an extension 3 removably attached to an :"ice

outlet or lower leg 4 of the body. Opening upwardly through an inlet port 5 in the inlet or upper leg 6 of the body 1 for filling by gravity from a sand dome or other sand supply (not shown), the sand chamber or hollow interior 7 in the body open-s outwardly onto the extension 3 through an outlet or discharge port 8 in the outlet leg 4. An air nozzle 9, fixed to and preferably integral with the body 2, opens onto the outlet end 10 of the outlet leg 4 below the sand outlet port '8 and, conveniently, is supplied with compressed air from a suitable source (not shown) through a passage or conduit 11 formed in the body and connecting to an air supply pipe 12 connected to the body. To facilitate cleaning of the sand chamber 7, the air passage 11 branches around a clean-out port or passage 13 opening from the chamber onto the lower end of the body and normally enclosed by an externally threaded plug 14'.

As in my copending application Ser. No. 774,235, filed November 17, 1958, now Patent No. 3,020,072, the rate of discharge of sand from the sand trap 1 is controlled by a single movable member or element 15 adjustably projectable from above the latters floor 16 to vary the upper limit of the opening 17 between the inlet and outlet legs 18 and 19, respectively, of the chamber. By correspondingly varying the height of the upper surface of the sand at or adjacent the start or inlet end of the outlet leg 19, the adjustable member 15 is enabled to make use of the angle of repose of the sand to control the height of the sand at the outlet end 10 of the outlet leg 19 and thus the quantity deliverable to the discharge or delivery pipe 20. Following the preference of that application, the movable control member here employed is a blade or paddle 15 extending across the sand chamber 7 adjacent the start of the outlet leg 19 and swingably, rotatably or pivotally mounted in and attached or connected at the sides to the body by a shaft 21 fixed to or integral with the blade and projecting into or through and journaled at opposite ends in the wall 22 of the body. As shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, a handle 23, serving also as a pointer, may be fixed to one of the outer ends of the shaft 21 for ready adjustment of the position of the blade 15, as well as to permit the blade adjustment at a given time to be read at a glance on a scale or dial 24 on the side of the body to which the handle points.

The extension 3, forming part of the sand trap '1, has a central or axial passage or bore 25 extending uninterruptedly or unrestrictedly through it and butts against or abuts the outlet end 10 of the outlet leg 4 of the body 2 about or clear of and surrounding, encircling or engirdling both the outlet port '8 of the sand chamber 7 and the air nozzle 9. Ordinarily cylindrical or tubular, the central passage 25 embraces or includes the outlet port 8 and air nozzle 9 within its lateral or radial confines or limits. Thus, in the illustrated embodiment in which the outlet port '8 is semi-cylindrical, the central passage 25 has a diameter at least equal to that of the outlet port.

Formed as a unitary flanged fitting or, as illustrated, a nipple 2/6 threaded into a collar or flange 27, the extension 3 is given a fluid-tight joint with the body 2 by an interposed O-ring or gasket 28 carried by the body or the extension, here, the latter, in a groove 29 in its inner or body-confronting end 30. In any case, the gasket 28 in sealing position is substantially concentric with and of at least the inside diameter of the side wall 31 of the extension so as not to interrupt or encroach upon either the passage 25 or the outlet port 8 or air nozzle 9 in the body 2.

For detachably connecting it to the body 2, the extension 3 has on its collar or flange 27 a pair or plurality of wings or lugs 32 radially outstanding in circumferentially spaced relation from and preferably at opposite sides of the collar. Each of these wings 32 is adapted to align with one of a pair or plurality of wings, lugs or abutments 33 integral with and outstanding radially from the end portion of the outlet leg 4 of the body -2. With this construction the body 2 and extension 3 may be connected by bolts 34, each simply extending through a wing on one of the parts and threaded into the aligned wing on the other. However, to prevent their possible loss, it is preferred that the bolts 34 be captive bolts, carried by one or the other part. To this end the boltreceiving aperture 35 in one of each pair of aligned wings, here the wing 33 on the body 2, is internally threaded substantially in its entirety but the other or extension wing 32 has its aperture 36 threaded only toward its outer end and otherwise is smooth-bored. Correspondingly, only the outer end portions of the stems 37 of the bolts 34 are threaded. This enables the bolts to be tightened without mating the threads of the aligned apertures 35 and 36 and yet holds them captive in the extension 3, when unscrewed or disengaged from the body, while permitting their intentional removal from the extension by further unscrewing.

conventionally, a sand trap is rigidly connected to the discharge pipe by a flanged or threaded joint with a coupling somewhere along the line to permit the portions so connected to be separated for cleaning or other purpose, although with difliculty. This problem in previous installations is avoided in the present sander by spacing the adjoining contiguous or confronting ends 38 and 39, respectively, of the extension 3 and the discharge pipe 20 and making the connection therebetween by a rubber or like flexible or resilient boot, sleeve or tube 40 receiving and clamped over their ends. The flexible connection provided by the boot 40' permits the extension to be flexed or swung away from the body 2 on being unbolted therefrom, and so exposes their confronting ends for ready cleaning of the outlet leg 19 of the sand chamber 7 and the discharge pipe 20 by compressed air applied through those ends. Also, the boot 40, as a flexible member, blocks transmission of vibrations and so cushions and protects the sand trap from any vibrations in the discharge pipe.

It has been mentioned that the adjustable blade '15 makes use of the angle of repose in the sand chamber 7 to determine the thickness or height above the floor 16 of the sand in the outlet leg 19 at the outlet end of the body 2 and so control the discharge rate of the sander. Accordingly, to enable the adjusting blade to function as intended, it is necessary, in the idle or at rest condition of the sand trap, that the upper surface of the mound of sand in the outlet leg 19 be free or clear of the body 2 from the blade to the outlet end 10 of the body and that the sand extend to the lip or outer end 41 of the floor 16 of the outlet leg and, except at the low setting of the blade, beyond the lip into the extension 3 and cover the outlet end of the nozzle. At the low setting, the suction exerted on the outlet port 8 by air injected into the extension 3 by the nozzle 9 is sufiicient to cause the small quantity of sand required to flow or be drawn over the lip into the path of the air jet from the nozzle. At higher settings of the blade, the air jet, instead of acting indirectly by suction, acts or impinges directly on the footing or portion of the sand mound in front of it in the extension 3 and, by removing or displacing this footing and consequently unbalancing the mound, initiates the gravity flow of sand through the sand chamber 7 to the extension for admixture with the air.

Since the outlet port 8 and air nozzle 9 both end or open at the outlet end 10 of the body 2 and open directly into the extension 3, no mixing of the sand and air 00 ours in the body, thus protecting the latter from the int-ernal cutting attendant such mixing. Additionally, since there is no contraction in the cross section of the passage 25 in the extension 3 beyond the point at which the sand and air are brought into contact, turbulence from this cause in the extension is avoided, with consequent reduction in the pressure drop and ability to sand with considerably less air pressure than normally is required. Too, since, once a sanding operation is commenced, the sand from the sand trap 1 will drop over the lip or outer end 41 of the floor 16 into the path of: air from the nozzle 9 and the latter in its preferred form is directed axially of the extension 3 and parallel to the latters sidewall 31, the flow of the mixture of air and sand in the preferred straight extension will be substantially parallel to the side wall and without interference or turbulence. Compared to the body 2, the nipple 26 or the extension as a whole, if unitary, is cheap and readily expendable. Even so, the lack of turbulence in the extension 3 and particularly the flow of the air and sand mixture substantially axially or parallel to the side wall 31 of the extension, due to the direction of the air jet axially or longitudinally thereof, minimizes the abrasive action of the mixture on the extension and correspondingly prolongs the latters life.

Necessarily expanding as it issues from the nozzle 9 into the extension 3, the actuating compressed :air tends .by cooling to release any oil that it may and usually will have picked up in the compressor (not shown). It is such released oil and moisture that are mainly responsible for clogging of the discharge pipe 20 and, while some clogging in service is unavoidable, the ready detachability of the extension 3 from the body 2 and the ability of the extension, because of the'flexible boot 40', to be swung away from the confronting end of the body, makes it simple to unclog the discharge pipe by an air blast applied from a nozzle (not shown) inserted into the inlet end 30. The location of the clean-out plug -14 substantially in line with the inlet leg 18 and the removability of the plug and detachability of the extension 3 from the body -2 alford ready access to the sand chamber 7 for unclogging or cleaning. However, if, as here, the clean-out plug 14 and body 2 are threadedly connected, unless the normal flow of sand into the sand chamber 7 is then cut off by a suitable device, such as that of my copending application Serial No. 774,235 filed November 17, 1958, the opposing upward force of the plug and downward force of gravity on the sand tend to force the latter into the threads of the connection, with consequent interference with application of the plug. To avoid this difficulty, there is provided a stopper or plug 42 of rubber or like yieldable material for plugging or closing the upper portion of the clean-out passage 13 and blocking access of any sand in the sand chamber7. to the lower portion of the passage, so that the clean-out plug can be applied free from interference by sand, after blowing or otherwise cleaning out the lower portion of the passage, as necessary, [following insertion of the rubber stopper. Preferably upwardly tapered and slidable from below into position, the rubber stopper 42 may be removably held in that position by friction but desirably is positively positioned by an underlying annular flange 43 instanding from the body 2 about the passage 13, through which the stopper is forced on application and removal. Formable integrally with the body 2, the instanding or inturned supporting flange 43 here forms the lower extremity of a bushing or sleeve 44 locked in the upper portion of the passage and sealing therefrom an annular groove 45 in the body about the passage through which the air passage 11 is branched around the clean-out passage. To facilitate its removal the rubber stopper 42 has attached to its underside a pull ring 46 which conveniently is accommodated or received in an upwardly opening cavity 47 in the clean-out plug.

From the above detailed description, it will be apparent that there has been provided an improved sander of which the most expensive part, the body of the sand trap, is protected both from cutting by the air-sand sanding mixture by mixing the air and sand beyond the body and from any vibration in the discharge pipe by an interposed resilient boot which, with a readily detachable extension, also facilitates cleaning of the sand trap and the discharge pipe. It should be understood that the described and disclosed embodiment is merely exemplary of the invention and that all modifications are intended to be included that do not depart [from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

Having described my invention, 1 claim:

l. in a sander, the combination of a sand trap including a body, an extension removably attached to an outlet end of said body, a sand chamber in said body, and means in said body below said chamber for applying air to sand consisting of air nozzle means, said chamber and air nozzle means opening at said outlet end of said body directly into said extension for mixing of sand and air therein entirely beyond said body.

2. In a sander having a discharge pipe, the combination of a sand trap including a body, an extension removably attached to an outlet end of said body, a sand chamber in said body, an air nozzle in said body below said chamber, said chamber and air nozzle opening at said outlet end of said body directly into said extension for mixing of sand and air therein entirely beyond said body, adjustable means in said body for regulating dis charge of sand from said sand trap, and a flexible connection between said extension and discharge pipe.

3. In a sander having a discharge pipe, the combination of a sand trap including a body having a sand outlet port in and opening at an outlet end of said body, an air nozzle in said body and opening at said outlet end below said outlet port, an extension removably attached to said outlet end of said body and encircling said outlet port and nozzle, means in said body for regulating flow of sand therefrom into said extension and mixing therein with said air, and a flexible connection between said extension and discharge pipe.

4. A sand trap comprising a body, a sand chamber in and having an outlet port opening at an outlet end of said body, and an air nozzle in said body and opening at said outlet end thereof below said sand chamber.

5. A sand trap comprising a body, a sand chamber in and having an outlet port opening at an outlet end of said body, an air nozzle in said body and opening at said outlet end thereof below said sand chamber, and an extension remova-bly attached to and having an air-tight flanged joint with said outlet end and encircling said outlet port and nozzle.

6. A sand trap comprising a body, a sand chamber in and having an outlet port opening at an outlet end of said body, an air nozzle in said body and opening at said outlet end thereof below said sand chamber, and an extension removably attached to and having an air-tight joint with said outlet end of said body, said extension having a central passage extending therethrough and embracing said outlet port and air nozzle.

7. A sand trap comprising a body, a sand chamber in and having an outlet port opening at an outlet end of said body, an air nozzle in said body and opening at said outlet end thereof below said sand chamber, an extension removably attached to said outlet end of said body, and sealing means interposed between confronting ends of said body and extension, said extension having an unrestricted passage extending therethrough and embracing said outlet port and air nozzle.

8. A sand trap comprising a body, a sand chamber in and having an outlet port opening at an outlet end of said body, an air nozzle in said body and opening at said outlet end thereof below said sand chamber, an extension connectable to and having a flange abuttable against said outlet end of said body, said extension having a central passage extending therethrough and embracing said outlet port and nozzle, a plurality of radially outstanding wings on said flange and each alignable with a correspondingly outstanding wing on said body, and bolt means extending through one and threaded into another wing of an aligned pair for detachably connecting said extension to said body.

9. A sand trap comprising a body member, a sand chamber in and having an outlet port opening at an outlet end of said body member, an air nozzle fixed in said body member and opening at said outlet end thereof below said outlet port, an extension member attachable to said outlet end of said body member and having a central passage embracing said outlet port and air nozzle, said extension member having a flange abuttable against said outlet end, a plurality of apertured wings outstanding radially from said flange and each alignable with an apertured wing on said body member, and a bolt extending through and held against accidental removal from one and threaded into another wing of each alignable pair for releasably connecting said members.

10. A sand trap comprising a body member, a sand trap in and having an outlet port opening at an outlet end of said body member, an air nozzle fixed in said body member and opening at said outlet end thereof below said outlet port, an extension member attachable to said outlet end of said body member and having a central passage embracing said outlet port and air nozzle, said extension member having a flange abuttable against said outlet end, a plurality of apertured wings outstanding radially from said flange and each alignable with an apertured wing on said body member, and a captive bolt carried by each wing on one of said members and threaded into the alignable wing on the other member for releasably connecting said members.

11. A sand trap comprising a body, a sand chamber in said body and having inlet and outlet legs and a clean out passage opening, respectively, onto upper, outer and lower ends of said body, an extension flexibly connected to a discharge pipe and having a flanged connection to said outer end of said body about the opening thereonto of said outlet leg, a plug threadedly connected to said body and normally closing a lower end of said cleanout passage, and removable means slid-ably insertible into said passage for blocking sand from a lower portion thereof during application of said plug.

12. A sand trap comprising a body, a sand chamber in said body and having inlet and outlet legs and a clean-out passage opening, respectively, onto upper, outer and lower ends of said body, an extension flexibly connected to a discharge pipe and having a flanged connection to said outer end of said body about the opening thereonto of said outlet leg, a plug threadedly connected to said body and normally closing a lower end of said cleanout passage, and a rubber stopper removably seated in and closing said passage for blocking access of sand to a lower portion thereof during application of said plug.

13. A sand trap comprising a body, a sand chamber in said body and having inlet and outlet legs and a clean out passage opening, respectively, onto upper, outer and lower ends of said body, an extension flexibly connected to a discharge pipe and having a flanged connection to said outer end of said body about the opening thereonto of said outlet leg, a plug threadedly connected to said body and normally closing a lower end of said cleanout passage, an annular flange instanding into said passage intermediate extremities thereof, a rubber stopper removably insertible from below into said passage and held therein by said flange, said stopper blocking access of sand to a lower portion of said passage during application of said plug, and a pull ring connected to an underside of said stopper and receivable in an upwardly opening cavity in said plug.

mally closing a lower portion of said passage, and a.

rubber stopper removably insertible from below into said passage for blocking access of sand to said lower portion thereof during application of said plug.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 608,091 Wells et a1. July 26, 1898 Beatty et a1. Mar. 1, 1910 Cash et al June 21, 1910 Kett Sept. 26, 1911 Parker Aug. 1, 1916 Kuehner Mar. 28, 1922 Vissering Nov. 12, 1929 Sudbury Jan. 2, 1940 Elston Feb. 4, 1941 Dean May 1, 1956 

1. IN A SANDER, THE COMBINATION OF A SAND TRAP INCLUDING A BODY, AN EXTENSION REMOVABLY ATTACHED TO AN OUTLET END OF SAID BODY, A SAND CHAMBER IN SAID BODY, AND MEANS IN SAID BODY BELOW SAID CHAMBER FOR APPLYING AIR TO SAND CONSISTING OF AIR NOZZLE MEANS, SAID CHAMBER AND AIR NOZZLE MEANS OPENING AT SAID OUTLET END OF SAID BODY DIRECTLY INTO SAID EXTENSION FOR MIXING OF SAND AND AIR THEREIN ENTIRELY BEYOND SAID BODY. 